It is a common practice during drilling, completion, and washover operations to recover objects from the inside of an oil or gas well. Some objects, such as bridge plugs and packers are purposely placed within a wellbore and designed to be retrieved after a certain service such as well fracturing, for example, has been performed. A retrieving tool is usually run in on the lower end of a tubing string to receive and latch onto a fishing neck of the bridge plug or packer. After attaching, the bridge plug or packer is released and pulled out of the well. This operation may be difficult or impossible if sand or debris has collected around and atop the fishing neck of a bridge plug or packer.
Well fluids are normally circulated through the lower end of the retrieving tool with a surface pump or a bailing tool to attempt to clean out sand and debris during the retrieving operation. A problem exists when the retrieving tool engages the fishing neck and sand and debris is still in place around the fishing neck below the lower end of the retrieving tool. This sand may not be removed by circulation due to the close fit between the inside diameter of the retrieving tool and the outside diameter of the fishing neck. As much as two (2) to four (4) feet of sand may be left atop the bridge plug or packer after the retrieving tool has engaged onto the fishing neck. Since bridge plugs and packers are large diameter tools, they usually may not be pulled out of the hole if sand is on top of them. Therefore, most retrieving jobs require two steps. First, a large diameter basket or shoe is run in the hole on the lower end of tubing to swallow the entire length of the fishing neck. Well fluid is circulated by using a surface pump or bailing tool to clean out any sand and debris from atop and around the fishing neck. After cleaning out the sand and debris, the large diameter shoe and tubing are pulled out of the hole. The second step is running the tubing and the retrieving tool back into the well to latch onto and retrieve the bridge plug or packer plug. If formation sand or debris sluffs into the well and collects above and around the fishing neck during the interval of time between steps one and two, the retrieving step will usually be unsuccessful and step one will have to be repeated. This whole process may take two (2) to three (3) days to complete in an offshore application. Each time the drill pipe is required to be run in and out of the well is time consuming and expensive.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,785,690 dated Jan. 15, 1974 shows a retrieval tool having a washover pipe with an annular cutting surface at its lower end for removing obstructions about the fish such as sand and debris. The soil and debris is removed by fluid flowing down through the pipe string and then upwardly through the annulus outside the washover pipe. The size of the material being removed is restricted by the width of the annulus. The retrieval tool is moved downwardly relative to the washover pipe for connection to the fish for removal of the fish from the well bore.
A need exists for a tool that can completely clean off sand and debris atop a packer or bridge plug and simultaneously attach onto its fishing neck. Such a device would also be desirable when attempting to remove any object that is stuck in a well due to being surrounded by sand and debris.